One of the highlights of Sweetater GearFest this year was a panel discussion in which Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim, and Roger Linn discussed their own work as well as the past, present, and future of synthesizers and electronic musical instruments in general. We present the panel in its entirety here.

This year’s GearFest--a weekend of panel discussions, hands-on demos, and exhibits at much-respected musical instrument retailer Sweetwater, spotlighted synths more than any previous show has done. Though keyboard players know that the “synth renaissance” has been brewing for more than a decade now, mainstream media and culture is just catching on that synths are back.

One certainly doesn’t need to tell these three gentlemen that. One of the highlights of GearFest was a panel discussion in which Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim, and Roger Linn discussed their own work as well as the past, present, and future of synthesizers and electronic musical instruments in general. We present the panel in its entirety here. CLICK HERE to see it hosted on Sweetwater’s website.

Dave Smith today announced the Sequential Prophet-6, a new 6-voice synthesizer with an all-analog signal path and discrete VCOs and filters. Auspiciously branded with Smith’s recently reacquired original company name, the new instrument is aimed squarely at musicians in search of vintage tone with the reliability of modern technology.

Fort Wayne, IN, May 5, 2015 - Sweetwater, the number one online retailer of music instruments and audio equipment in the U.S., will present GearFest '15, a celebration of musicians and the instruments and equipment they use to make and record music, on Friday, June 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, June 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dave Smith's new Pro 2 is a hybrid synth: digital oscillators feeding analog filters. While the first-glance impression might understandably be "monophonic Prophet 12," it's in fact a rather different animal. Read the full review by Francis Preve in our October 2014 issue. Here, keyboardist Tom Brislin digs into it for the first time.

Dave Smith Instruments today introduced the DSM01 Curtis Filter module, their first offering for modular synthesizers. The module takes its name from the original filter chip designed by the late Doug Curtis and provides both a switchable 2/4-pole low-pass filter and a VCA. The Curtis filter is an integral part of the sound of many synthesizers created by Dave Smith, including the classic Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Pro-One, and more recent instruments such as the Evolver, Mopho, Prophet ʼ08, and Prophet 12.